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How One Stay at Home Mom Overcame Fear and Made History

Late at night, Mark Whitacre watched an FBI agent leave his home and walk toward the car, gone at last and completely oblivious to the corporate crime at work.

It was over.

But then his wife, Ginger, made it clear that she, at least, was not going to let one of the world’s largest food ingredient companies Archer Daniels Midland get away with stealing billions. She started to walk toward the FBI agent. In that moment, Mark must have remembered her earlier ultimatum: “Either you turn yourself into the FBI, or I will do it for you.”

He had to confess.

That was the moment Mark Whitacre solidified his fate to turn in ADM and become the highest-ranking executive whistleblower in U.S. history.

It’s a story told in The Informant book by NY Times bestselling author Kurt Eichenwald, and again when Hollywood took it to the big screen in The Informant 2009 movie, starring Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre. It’s a story that made headlines when the Archer Daniels Midland price fixing scandal news broke in 1995. And it’s a story that Mark and Ginger Whitacre share when they speak about the case and their Christian testimony all over the country – including the speech Faith Driven Business recently attended at the St. Louis Prayer Breakfast with CBMC.

“It was Ginger who was the true whistleblower of the ADM case,” Mark says when he shares his testimony. “If it was not for a 34-year-old stay-at-home mom of three young children, the largest price-fixing scheme in U.S. history may never have been exposed.”

But Mark knew that what ADM was doing was wrong. So what held him back?

At the time, Mark went to church and considered himself a Christian, but his faith didn’t influence his actions. Ginger was the Christian who told him she’d rather be homeless than live in a mansion paid for by his company’s theft, as Mark later recalled in his testimony speech.

Ginger didn’t let fear stop her from doing the right thing and trusting God with their future. But fear held Mark back – so much so that he almost didn’t confess to the FBI. Only after Mark was convicted for his own corporate crimes did he find God…but more about that story later.

So what does Scripture say about fear? The Bible tells us not to fear 365 times, and Paul reminds us that “God has not given us a spirit of fear” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Many people like Mark fear the unknown. What would happen to his career, to his salary, to his family if he turned himself in? He feared the worse.

Perhaps you can relate to Mark. Are you afraid or conflicted? Are you thinking, “This is too big for me” or “There just doesn’t seem to be a solution”? What if you’ve done everything you can think of but things just keep getting worse? What if you’ve reached your breaking point and just can’t take it anymore?

Sometimes God allows the enemy to appear too big for us to handle for a reason. When the odds of victory appear 50-50, we might try to do battle in our own strength, as Mark did.

When King David was just a boy he too faced a giant. The 9-foot tall Goliath carried a spear and wore a coat of armor weighing about 125 pounds. Scripture says the Israelites “were dismayed and greatly afraid.” Sound familiar?

This picture defies all logic. David comes on the scene with bread and cheese. He was small. Where was the hope there?

But David knew one thing that no one else understood. The battle wasn’t his, but God’s.

David didn’t come in his own power and might, or his own strength and courage. David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty” (1 Samuel 17:45).

Know that God is with you. He has already fought the giant and won. Trust him with your future rather than allowing fear to cloud your judgment. The Book of Isaiah provides God’s encouragement: “So do not fear for I am with you. … I will strengthen you and help you” (41:10).

Hear the Redemption Story from the Informant Himself in this Live Webinar

So how did Mark Whitacre end up discovering faith after all the corporate crimes he committed?

In it, Mark and Ginger will take us behind one of the largest business corruption scandals in history, share how their family endured Mark’s demanding undercover work and imprisonment, and tell the incredible story of how Mark found faith in the aftermath.